


Saudade

by Emono



Series: B'shert [2]
Category: The Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: Advancement of Story, M/M, Nothing fancy here, Plot, two parts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-05-23
Packaged: 2018-01-26 05:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1675676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emono/pseuds/Emono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Johns and Riddick try to deal with being apart but they can't quite let go of one another, no matter how they try. There's mentions of another man, but then something happens to our favorite spitfire merc. Happens at the same time as "Cagamosis".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saudade

**There's a change to the canon universe: People say Riddick got his eyes shined at Ursa Luna, but that was proven a lie because Shira gave him Alpha Furyan eyes in Butcher Bay. I didn't realize it happened in Butcher Bay so I wrote a different scene. I liked it and I didn't want to change it, and to be honest I didn't want the boys to spend anymore time in Butcher Bay than necessary (which is where he gets in in canon).**

**This takes place at the same time as "** **Cagamosis", which is the 3rd installment.**

 

 

 

* * *

 

_**Saudade** _

_(n.) a deep, nostalgic, and melancholic longing for something or someone, often accompanied with a denied fact that what one longs for will never come back_

\- from [wordstuck](http://wordstuck.co.vu/)

 

* * *

 

 

Johns tapped his destination quadrants into the control panel, fingers flipping all the appropriate switches from memory. The computer gave a pleasant little hum before settling into its route. He had a few hours before he arrived at port to hit up his source for the lead on his next big catch. He'd downloaded the bastard's profile not two hours after his bed-buddy had bailed out and he was already gearing to go. Except...

 

Johns pulled his comm out of his jacket and switched it over to record a Captain's Log. It was a habit he'd picked up from his father and it made him feel a little closer to old Boss.

 

“Captain's Log Number Forty-Two – shit.” Johns shook the device when it gave a squeal of protest. After a moment it cut out, the display snapping back to normal and the red light was on to show it was still recording. He grunted and shook it one more time as punishment. “Stupid thing. Stopped by Catulla for some fun and I found it. Oh man, did I find it. Six foot something, fucking hotter than Hell on legs, and...well, I'll just say he, uh, scratched that particular itch for me.”

 

The merc snickered to himself. The next thought that popped up in his head wiped the smirk right off his face.

 

“Dresden,” he spat out, “He followed me. I'm not sure if he saw me at the club or not but he tracked me down to the ship. I had barely stepped on the dock before he was in my face. He made some snide comment and I think he tried to make a pass at me. Fucker.”

 

Johns' eyes fell closed and his head tilted back, the memory of Riddick overwhelming him for a moment. The way the man had grabbed his ass like he had every right, the thundering growls, the sheer strength. He moaned faintly, dick twitching in interest.

 

“No more guys for a while,” he noted absently, still lost in the residual burn of those touches. “None are gonna' keep up with that.”

 

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

 

The tree bark dug into his back, rough edges threatening to cut through his shirt. It didn't bother him. The protective canopy overhead, the substantial height off the ground – it was the perfect place to relax a bit and catch a nap. He'd lost the mercs that had been on his tail hours ago and he was ready to settle down for some long-deserved rest. But first...

 

Riddick clicked on his comm, stolen months ago off some unsuspecting bystander. It was the same one he'd synchronized with Johns' device and it had worked with a small amount of surprise. He'd only tried it once and the man's voice had come in loud and clear with only the low-level of static that came with recording around complicated equipment like a ship. Now the comm would beep when Johns was recording in real-time – the logs would stay on the device, but he liked listening to them right when the man had his mouth to the receiver. Kind of made him feel like he was there.

 

Riddick put the speaker to his ear and flicked the volume down until it was a low, intimate murmur in his ear.

 

“ _This new guy I'm chasing is kind of quick. I'm used to hunting down big guys but this one is all skin and bones and he is God damn fast in a crowd. Pain in my ass. If the bounty wasn't so high...nah, I'm lying right there. I don't care if it was a five credit line at this point. I already started the hunt. No going back now. Once I've got their scent it'd take a lot more than swift feet to shake me. No one gets away.”_

 

His mouth fell open, just a bit, and he sucked in a little gasp of shock. His boy was a merc. That didn't strike him as hard as he would have thought. He was used to running in dangerous circles and the whores he usually fell in bed loved to carry sharp little knives tucked into their stockings. He liked a little bite to his lust, an edge to his sex, and Johns had fulfilled that to a 't'.

 

 _Interesting, kitten. Very interesting._ A smirk curled the edge of his mouth.

 

“ _You'll never guess who was staying in the same motel where I was hitting people up for tips. Dresden. This time he offered me a full-fledged partnership. Last time he hinted at it; this was pretty much a slap in the face._ ”

 

Johns didn't sound too happy about that.

 

“ _I don't partner up. That's not what this job is about, at least not to me. He acts all buddy-buddy with me in public but the moment we're alone he either wants to slit my throat or fuck it. Maybe both. Like I'd ever get in bed with a snake like that – in any form._ ”

 

Riddick grit his teeth, a snarl building up in the back of his throat. This was the second time he'd heard about Dresden, the last one was about how the guy liked to get under the merc's skin with all his snide comments and innuendos. Riddick wouldn't easily forget this offense, not with how angry Johns appeared to be over it. He knew that tone. The blonde was being belittled because of his age and probably his looks as well. Solo mercs were rare. They usually hunted in packs, like wolves. Too weak on their own. His kitten was a damn tiger and he didn't need any help. An independent cat that would bow to no man but had been all-too-pliant under his own hand. This 'Dresden' was impending on his territory.

 

If he didn't know any better, he'd say the Shifter was shaken up.

 

“ _It's just_...” Johns trailed off. “ _It's been a while now and I'm a fuck-twice-a-day_ _kind of guy to start with, okay? No one's been doing it for me at the ports lately. Think I'd rather be here in my favorite girl than out there with all those people smelling like desperation and...I don't know what's in the water in this sector, but everyone's pheromones are fucking gross. The last girl who saddled up to me almost got vomit on her shoes. Maybe it's the food. I don't know. It's stupid._ ”

 

There was a pause, the anticipation swelling in the con's chest.

 

“ _He has nothing to do with this. That guy is..._ ”

 

Johns heaved a sigh into the mic. He could easily picture the other frowning, maybe chewing on his lips or the side of his thumbnail.

 

“ _He's just another memory_.”

 

The recording shut off with a sharp _click_.

 

Riddick cocked his head, slowly lowering the comm down so he could stare at it. There at the end of the log...there was something different than the man's usual confidence. The spitfire he'd fucked seemed to be flickering, faltering under uncertainty.

 

It sounded like sadness, and that just wouldn't do.

 

**x-X-x**

 

A local tribe had given him a basket of fruit and roots. They kept calling him 'predator' in their native language and seemed to think that giving an offering would appease him or some shit. They were small and had spears, but they were good people. He was hauling the woven basket back to his chosen, nearly-unscaleable tree when his comm gave it's little beep to show that Johns was recording another Captain's Log.

 

_It's only been a week, kitten, what else could you have to say?_

 

He got up onto the thickest branch easily enough. He took a thick bite of a tangy root and thumbed the device on, the merc's voice filling his hide-out.

 

“ _Fifteen for fifteen, but that doesn't mean shift because_ _I'm probably going to be stuck on this fuckin' planet for the rest of my natural life. I have a total of zero credits to my name and no one will hire me on for even a God damn hour. It's my girl. She's got a good set of throttle modules on her but they run expensive and one of them burned out on me. The coil is fucked. I tried to fix it and it burnt the shit out of my fingers. I was barely able to dock her properly. She won't go forward or back and...damn it. She has specific needs. The T-723 is the only thing she'll take and of course they're either out of stock or they're too much money here. The keepers won't take favors or my name or trade or shit-else besides credit. I don't know what to do. I don't want to call my dad or his crew. I'll do it on my own. I have to._ ”

 

A sigh shook through the mic.

 

“ _But I don't know how to this time._ ”

 

Riddick pursed his lips thoughtfully. Those mercs were probably still beating the bushes trying to catch him, which meant their transport was just sitting around for the taking. It wouldn't be too hard to trace the signal...and what was the harm? What was one stolen ship on top of his bounty? What was one little pit-stop on his way to the next hide-out?

 

**x-X-x**

 

Johns had tried to scrounge up credits in every way he knew how. He tried to offer his mechanic skills, he tried to work at the bars, and he even tried to put in as a bouncer at the few underground clubs he'd unearthed. There'd been some sick offers for some dirty money but after a few broken hands they fizzled out. The town was unfriendly and dark, every boarded up window and shifty-eyed merchant making him that much more uneasy. He _really_ didn't want to call Boss with his tail between his legs because he'd let maintenance go ( _again_ ) and he'd spent all his credits on booze and food and pool before making sure his girl didn't need anything ( _again_ ).

 

“One God damn module,” he muttered under his breath, kicking at the stray gear that he'd tossed across the floor trying to look for something worth selling. He slapped his palm down on the hutch door lock and waited until he heard the tell-tale hiss of the pressure lock. The merc trudged over and plopped down into the Captain's chair, filthy palm scrubbing over his face as he tried to think of what he was going to do. He was running out of options.

 

Johns paused. There was something out of place. He couldn't really put his finger on it at first but then he spotted the module resting on top of his censor box.

 

“Fuck.”

 

He sprang from his seat and grabbed his pistol-grip shotgun. He brought it up and danced the aim from shadow to shadow, blue eyes reflecting as he searched the darkness for an unknown enemy. Finding nothing he started a sweep. Every nook and cranny had the end of his gun shoved into it. He carefully climbed up into the rafters of the back holding area but all he got was a heart attack from a tiny songbird that had snuck in through the hatch.

 

The poor thing almost got blasted apart by an itchy trigger-finger.

 

He gave chase and caught it, palms comically large around its tiny body. He shoved his shoulder into the button that dropped down the ramp and stepped outside, letting the tiny bird go free as he surveyed the area. There was nothing suspicious. No hanger-abouts, no one staring, no one really out of place more than people usually were. For once, the merc decided to give up the search. Whoever had broken in was probably long-gone.

 

Maybe he'd catch a scent.

 

Johns locked himself inside and set up the security system, just in case. He approached the part with caution, crouching beside the censor box and peering at it closely. He knew it probably wasn't a bomb but he also knew he couldn't be too careful in his line of work. He leaned in and gave it a delicate sniff. There was something on it, something familiar. He picked it up as gingerly as he could and licked a stripe up the side. Goosebumps broke out across tan skin, hair bristling.

 

Scorched earth. No, not scorched – superheated _._

 

 _Riddick_.

 

Johns picked up the part and examined it thoroughly, right down to the serial number. It was exactly what he needed. How had he known? How had he broken in? Was he being followed? The merc didn't know whether to be scared or turned on. The only thing he could be certain of was that he was grateful.

 

“Thanks for getting me off this rock, Big Guy.”

 

**x-X-x-X-x-X-x**

 

Riddick couldn't look away from the river's reflective surface. He was mesmerized by the change and he just couldn't stop staring, his mind a whir as he tried to figure out why it felt so right to see silver when the light hit his eyes instead of his old brown.

 

It all started when he'd landed into a heavy wooded area like his last hide out, this time on a planet half a sector away from hospitable villagers and Johns' sweet scent. After he'd dropped off the module he'd booked it off the dock, managing to steal a shirt for reasons he wasn't comfortable looking too deep into. (And there had been a moment of weakness where he'd scented the merc's bed, but that was a whole level of possession he didn't want to explore.) His new-found forest was covered in moss where there should be brush and the trees were shaded an unnatural blue. The same shade extended to its inhabitants. At first it had just been unlucky rabbit-creatures and thick feathered birds with long tails to show their faces, then the real beasts came out to play.

 

Riddick had run into a saber cat and its five masters while trying to catch a small, foxy-eared creature with turquoise stripes. The men were pale and loud mouthed but they had enough poisonous weapons to make him wary. The cat had a mouthful of that same poison but much more potent if the smell of it had anything to say, teeth sharp like razors and jaw strong enough to chomp a tree branch in two without a second thought. He'd taken out the locals first, burying his knives in their chests and necks from a distance. The saber cat he'd killed with his bare hands. He dodged and danced around it but the beast was faster and stronger than he'd anticipated. The bastard had almost taken off his arm in the struggle. He'd wrestled with it like a bull, getting taken to the dirt only a few seconds before he put his hands on the cat's throat and snapped it.

 

The fight had been brutal. There were a few more close calls than he was used to and by the end he'd been bleeding pretty heavy. Not enough to kill him but enough to make him feel more alive than he had in a long while.

 

Afterward he'd skinned the feline and dumped its masters bodies into the quick-current river about half a mile away. No reason to give other hunters a lead towards his make-shift camp. The con had taken the beast with him to the clearing and had sawed off generous cuts of raw meat, eating them off his knife with a carelessness that stained his face red. He had never felt more like the feral animal society called him until that moment but he didn't mind it one bit.

 

That night he'd slept on his new furs, the underside still saturated with blood but the material warm in the night air. There had been whispers in his dreams. _You have been blind for so long._ A woman's voice telling him it was time, that he was ready, and that it was only the beginning. _There are so many destinies tied to yours._

 

Now his eyes were shined. He'd heard stories about this kind of thing in slams but no one ever really lived to tell the tale. It was a shady business that he preferred to keep his hands clean of when passing through a joint. The sun had blinded him when he'd woken up but the cave he'd found a few yards off had been clear as day. It would take some time to fine-tune it, but he could now truly see into the deepest darkness.

 

Riddick turned his head and they flashed. They reminded him of the sabre cat's eyes. They reminded him of Johns.

 

He was yanked out of his musing by a sudden crackling sensation in his fingers. He looked down and frowned when there was a light blue glow around his fingernails, seeping into the whorls of his fingerprints and filling in the lines of his palms. He was overcome by the urge to touch someone. Not just anyone...he wanted to touch his skin. His his hand around that sweet, golden neck and mark it. Force his brand into flesh until it seeped into his very bones until he was sure the merc would never forget him.

 

And just like that – it was gone. The light, the urgency to get his hands on the Shifter _rightnow_ , all disappearing like smoke. Riddick frowned hard down at his own hands. He'd never thought of a one night stand past those few hours between the sheets. Choosing to blow his cover for a module...he'd never done anything like that before for someone else, especially not a merc. He'd learned that lesson long ago. People were quick to betray slam-trash like him. They would either pal around with him on the pretense of a kindred spirit/sidekick or they would simper and spread their legs like they just wanted a fun time. Either way, it always came down to his bounty.

 

Maybe that's why he was so hung up on this Shifter...he was the first person in a long while that he'd gotten into bed with without first handing over a credit or checking the perimeter for mercs. It didn't matter. He couldn't afford to get close. He could think about Johns all he wanted, fantasize about him, but there had to be no more getting into his space. The shirt he'd stolen would have to be as close as he'd get again.

 

Riddick let his hands fall to his side. _Musta' been something in that meat._

 

Or maybe something else all-together.

 

**x-X-x**

 

Riddick decided to check in on his boy a day later. He was waiting for the rest of the sabre cat to cook and he had some time to rest. There was one waiting log and he tapped on it, putting the speaker to his ear as he settled down on the grass beside his fire pit.

 

“ _Captain's Log Number Forty-Five. Some second rate, two-bit, Class L planet jailman put me on loan for sweet sixteen-of-sixteen. Said he'd pay up in two days after the guy I hauled in was cleared of a med-check. Bullshit. He tried to gyp me. Said I didn't turn him in on time, said he paid Boss too much last time and he wasn't gonna' help make my family rich or some bullshit. I would've normally beaten his face in but this guy stepped in. This pretty boy.”_

 

Riddick pursed his lips, nerves fizzling along his spine when he heard the man sigh.

 

“ _A man, really. He was downright beautiful, and I don't say that lightly. Beautiful and more fucking dangerous than anyone I've met in a while. He's fast, and he was ruthless with that jailer. Stepped in, made me check my attitude. I managed to get a real whiff of him. He smelled like a Shifter but I don't think he knew it. Don't ask me how that's possible, but it was faint. Not like he was rubbin' up against a Shifter or something 'cause it was right in his scent. Maybe I'm wrong._ ”

 

Johns hummed thoughtfully.

 

“ _He reminded me a lot of Riddick_.” The con grinned, flashing all his teeth. “ _Wasn't sure if I wanted to fuck him or fight him._ ”

 

A strange mix of jealousy, curiosity, and admiration twisted in his stomach.

 

“ _I don't know. It was only a few minutes, but there was something there._ ”

 

The log stopped there. Riddick sat the comm aside in his travel pack, brow furrowed up over his newly silver eyes. Strange. He didn't like the merc talking about some other guy like that, sure, but he wouldn't object to seeing this deadly mystery man in person. Understand what the big deal was about. Maybe get a sniff of this strange scent, see if it was tantalizing enough to get stuck in his head like it obviously had with Johns.

 

But no. That was a bad idea. He'd played his one give-a-fuck card, he didn't have time to abandon every hide out he found just to fulfill some stupid whims. Whims got people killed. He couldn't just steal a ride, satisfy this curiosity, then fly back and bunker down in the woods again. At this rate he was going to not only run out of hiding spots but run up his bounty. Never the same place twice. Never go back, always forward. That's what kept you alive.

 

Riddick ripped the cooked saber cat off the fire and took a searing bite-full, forcing himself to forget about the blue-eyed Shifter kitten and his _pretty boy_.

 

**x-X-x**

 

Without warning, the almost-daily Captain's Logs stopped. The comm went dead. Nothing out, nothing recorded, no lists checked off or made – nothing. For two days there was radio silence. A hundred things could have happened, the top being that his receiver burn out. On the third day, he'd resigned himself to never hearing the merc again.

 

He had just started mentally prying out the hooks Johns had put in him when the device pinged.

 

It was an incoming message, much harder to listen to than a recording. It took him a few minutes but eventually the encryption gave way, allowing him a distorted mirror of the merc's home screen. He sifted through the broken lines of code and eventually found the core of the memory. He picked through the useless ones and eventually managed to get into what he wanted. A voice he'd never heard before came through the speaker, older and more controlled than Johns' had ever been but with a hint of that accent peeking through.

 

“ _You need to answer your comm, Billy. The crew and I are getting worried. You've been off the radar for a damn week. I found your ship docked at Ranza V. There was a full tank and the boys couldn't find one damn thing wrong with it. All your gear was in it, even the shotgun I got you on you. Dahl found your knive holster with only one blade in it. Whoever you're hunting isn't worth it, son. Not with how torn up we all are. We'll leave your girl where she is in case you return._ ”

 

Riddick's brow furrowed. Son?Was this the father that Johns was already fretting about?

 

“ _This is why you never should have left. You should have stayed with us where I could watch over you and now you're God knows where! I'm going to have your pelt when I find you!_ ”

 

There was a growl of frustration over the line. It sounded like there was some truth to Daddy's watered down Shifter blood.

 

“ _Be safe. Please. I think I heard Dahl crying last night. We all want you back. I want you back, Billy._ ”

 

It sounded serious. His chest felt a little tight at the thought of Johns disappearing without a trace. He knew the boy's relationship with his father was strained but to not tell him where he was going...to abandon his ship at a dock on the edge of the sector...it didn't sit right with him.

 

_Shoulda' never fucked that brat. Pretty eyes always stick with me. Stupid kitten._

 

**x-X-x**

 

Leaving behind yet another secluded cover, Riddick high jacked a puddle-jumper to get him to the nearest high level port. From there he stowed away on a massive hauling ship that was headed right to the planet he wanted, the planet where the reversed signal from Johns' comm was coming from. It hadn't been easy but eventually he'd re-routed the feedback and managed to pick up the precise coordinates.

 

Riddick managed to sneak off the ship without getting spotted and followed the signal as closely as he could. It led him through some back alleys and past some shadows that didn't need to be explored, boots slapping off filthy stone all the way into a gritty dead-end. The tall, run-down buildings formed three cement walls and the floor was cracked from abuse and time. He didn't need to do much searching to see the blood spattered on the walls. There were rusty drag marks across the cobblestone that showed there were once dead bodies lying around. There had been a fight, a rough one by the looks of it.

 

The con crouched in the furthest corner and swiped his thumb across one of the muddy skids, sniffing at it sharply to catch what exactly it was. Shifter blood. Another thumbnail scratch at the ground proved the opposite – human, maybe merc. He dug through the debris by one of the trash cans and found a blood caked knife and Johns' comm. A quick check of the device showed it had run out of juice, still intact despite the battle that had taken place here.

 

He scratched at the dried bits along the blade. Silver shined through.

 

A group, organized but rough around the edges, had taken Johns off-guard with nothing but his emergency weapons on him. There wasn't enough Shifter blood to confirm a death but it didn't look good. At the very least he'd been abducted. They could have been anyone. Game hunters, slave traders, maybe just a group of thugs looking for a new ass to fuck.

 

_Johns wouldn't have gotten' taken down this hard by the commonwealth._

 

That thought gave him minimal comfort.

 

He pocketed both the items with a new weight in his lungs that made every breath a hassle. Johns had been dragged off to who-knows-where and there was little he could do about it.

 

Riddick tilted his head back and let his eyes fall on the orange-tinted moon that resided in this planet's sky. _Keep fighting them tooth and nail, kitten. Don't let those bastards keep you. Can't help you this time. Don't think I forgot about you that easy._

 

He took a deep breath and tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. _Fight for both of us._

* * *

**I was going to promise smut in every installment, but these next two installments are just plot and meeting Vaako. But EVERY installment after that will have delicious smutty-smut-smut. Comments are appreciated more than anything. Terrible gifset[here](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/86563066761/keep-fighting-them-tooth-and-nail-kitten-dont)**

 

 


End file.
